10

Project Management
Mistakes
A OrangeScrum Publication
Introduction
Project Management is a strategic competency of organizations that involve the
application of knowledge, skills, and techniques to align project objectives with
business goals, enabling companies to better compete in their respective market.

It is unfortunate that many project managers make basic mistakes and don’t put in
place a solid foundation based on which the project can progress. Project leaders
know that a successful project is often a dynamic process that utilizes the resources
available in a structured manner, as without it everything else falls apart.

If we do not have a solid method for defining and controlling the project’s scope,
benefits, deliverables, costs, quality, risks and responsibilities, the project is unlikely
to be successful even if the project manager is excellent at leading and motivating
people.

While defining or executing the project, you are almost certain to come across new
information, and based on the new information gathered, you will have to revise your
budget, project deadline, implementation model, etc. In other words, more you
understand the bigger picture, the better you will plan your project.

It is true that people deliver projects, but processes support them in doing so. And
because of the continuous and compounding nature of all those millions of decisions
you make on a regular basis, even a marginal improvement in our process has a huge
impact on our end results.
Not paying sufficient attention to
the planning stages of the project:

1
When people think of ideation or project planning, they tend to
immediately jump into the scheduling and execution stage. But you won’t
even get to that part until you have the framework ready for that particular
project/task.

Being too eager to start building and developing without knowing what the
end game is and how to get there is a classic mistake.

Project managers succumb to pressure from senior stakeholders who don’t

understand the importance of planning and who have a naïve hope that
the project can be delivered quicker if the planning stage is reduced.

The key to a successful project is in the planning. Creating a project plan is

the first task you should do when undertaking any project. Often project
planning is ignored in favour of getting on with the work. However, many
people fail to realise the value of a project plan in saving time, money and
for avoiding many other problems.
Lack of attention to the project’s
business case

2
Many project managers fail to ensure that there is a sound rationale for
undertaking the project.

They assume, often incorrectly, that the business case has been completed
by senior management and don’t see the bigger picture, commercially and
strategically.

Unfortunately, this also means that projects oftentimes aren’t aligned to

the to the organization’s strategic objectives.

Once the project is running it is important the project manager keeps

control. This is achieved by regular reporting of issues, risks, progress and
the constant checking of the business case to make sure that the expected
benefits will be delivered and are still valid.

Many proud, objective-oriented managers have a list of goals that are, on

closer inspection, technology driven, and not business driven. They are
headed for a 'successful' project whose results will never be used.
Not completing an accurate
project charter

3
Many project managers operate at a surface level and leave out important
information in the charter or project initiation document.

They fail to uncover what the project will deliver in detail and how it will
go about delivering it.

They also make the mistake of not walking the stakeholders through the
information in the charter; they simply chase a signature as opposed to
gaining people’s genuine buy-in for this important planning document.

A Project Definition document should be prepared early in the project and

formally signed off by the Steering Committee. This document should
define the goals, objectives, benefits, deliverables, exclusions,
assumptions, business sponsors, responsibilities, estimated costs, and
timescale.

In a nutshell, "The single best payoff in-terms-of project success comes

from having good project definition early.
Not using product-based planning
techniques

4
Trying to manage a large and complex project without a project plan is like
trying to cross an unknown continent without a map, you are running
blind. The key thing to get right is the balance between planning and
action.

Many project managers fail to make use of intuitive product-base planning

techniques, such as product breakdown structures and product flow
diagrams.

They don’t involve the team in the planning process and plan for the far
future in too much detail. Oftentimes they fail to split the project into
shorter phases with clear outcomes and deliverables that can provide early
successes and benefits to the users. A detailed project plan should be
developed and signed off by the Steering Committee.

Base the plan on known metrics, how long did an earlier similar project
take? Involve all team members, not just senior management. Develop a
plan in iterations over several weeks, by consulting team members and
drawing on their experience.
Unclear scope and lack of detailed
requirements

5
Scope descriptions are often vague and open to interpretations and not
enough thought has been given to what is out of scope.

Requirements are documented at too high a level, they are not according
to the baseline and changes aren’t tracked, assessed or incorporated into
the project in a structured manner.

The result is scope creep, or in the worst case a project which fails to
deliver what the customer needed.

Developing a prototype will breathe some life into the requirements

gathering process. People can find it difficult to engage in dry documents;
where a screen-based prototype can bring the debate to life.

Basing the development on a series of prototypes will create a perception

of early delivery to the users and a feeling of involvement in and
commitment to the development process.
Underestimating the project’s
effort

6
It is a classic mistake that project managers underestimate the project’s
effort, either as a result of not appreciating what needs to be delivered, or
as a result of poor estimation processes.

They are often too optimistic; failing to challenge the estimates given to
them and leaving out contingency to cover for risks and uncertainties.

You should test deliverables early. One of the fundamental lessons drawn
from delivering IT projects, is the later you leave the testing in the
development cycle, the more it costs to fix.

"When end users get involved in the final stages of testing, light bulbs go
on, and they often have an 'aha' moment. Unfortunately, that is often too
late." - Frank R. Parth

At the end of your every phase of your projects hold a formal debrief
session, including a post implementation 'Lessons Learned' review with the
team.
Poor risk management processes

7
Not paying sufficient attention to effective management of risks is yet
another classic mistake.

Risk management often ends up as a mechanical tick-box exercise without

any real impact. The most important risks aren’t identified, owners and
mitigating actions aren’t assigned and the project team doesn’t have a risk
management culture.

The task of the project manager is to identify the most severe risks and
plan to minimise them. Throughout the project, you should continue to
focus on the major risks facing the project, which will change over time.
This helps to keep the focus on the areas that need to be addressed.

To run away from risks is to miss the whole point. To ensure project
success, you need to take the right risks and you need to be aware that,
that is what you are doing.
Not setting up a clear governance
structure

8
Many stakeholders get appointed to the project board or steering
committee without being explained what their roles and responsibilities
are and what it entails to be the executive body of the project.

In some cases, the steering committee hasn’t been officially formed and
doesn’t meet on a regular basis.

The project manager must make sure that roles and responsibilities are
clearly defined for the project. The organisational structure should be kept
as-simple-as-possible.

The roles and responsibilities for managing the project must be fully
documented and adapted to suit the size and complexity of the project and
the skills of the organisation.

One of the many roles of the Project Manager is to actively 'drive' the
Steering Committee, making sure that regular meetings take place,
providing clear agendas, making sure that key decisions are made, and
actions are followed up.
Not making use of key
performance indicators

9
Many project managers fail to track and control the project through earned
value metrics.

They report on project progress in a non scientific way and don’t

understand the power of KPIs. This includes keeping track of the project’s
financials compared to budget as well as products delivered compared to
plan.

The project plan should be monitored and updated every week. This is
important since tasks are often underestimated, and many new tasks will
be identified as the project moves forward.

If you create plans at the beginning of a project, put them in a drawer and
forget them, why bother creating them in-the-first place?

"In poorly run projects, problems can go undetected until the project fails.
It's like the drip...drip...drip of a leaky underground pipe. Money is being
lost, but you don't see it until there is an explosion." - Joy Gumz
Insufficient attention to quality
Not paying attention to the quality of the project’s deliverables is a huge
mistake which can have detrimental effects.

10
Many project managers never get around to completing the quality plan,
they don’t engage an independent QA function, don’t make use of peer
reviews, fail to incorporate user feedback early in the process and don’t
use prototyping and iterative development as a way to reduce risk and
improve quality. Instead they deal with the fallout and assign more people
to deal with the defect.

For many projects, the total set of user requirements can be ambitious,
making it difficult or even impossible to deliver a solution that meets all
the requirements, in a way, that is robust, cost-effective, maintainable and
can be rolled out quickly to a large user base.

During all stages of the project, there should be widespread consultation

with many parties. However, the project should ultimately be controlled
by a small, dedicated 'core' project team, which is focused on achieving a
concrete result. This will make sure that when difficult decisions have to
be made, they are made clearly, forcefully and quickly.
About OrangeScrum

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Source Credit: OrangeScrum Blog, projectsmart.co.uk